OVERVIEW: The Charles Lafitte Foundation supports education, medical research and public health. New Jersey, Florida and New York appear to be geographic priorities.
IP TAKE: The Charles Lafitte Foundation is worth a look for nonprofits working at the intersection of education, children and youth, healthcare, and the arts, especially organizations with concrete, project-based requests. While the foundation’s grantmaking is organized into four broad program areas, its portfolio consistently reflects an emphasis on improving opportunities and quality of life for children, students, patients and underserved communities.
Although the foundation says it often supports smaller organizations doing impactful work outside the spotlight, its recent grantmaking demonstrates that it is equally comfortable making significant commitments to major institutions. For grantseekers, this means that organizational size is less important than presenting a compelling, clearly defined project.
Grantseekers should not expect a highly structured, competitive grant program with published deadlines or open requests for proposals. The foundation’s latest 990s still describes an initial online application process, but the current website no longer includes a publicly accessible grants page or application portal. Because the foundation has not publicly clarified whether that process has changed, applicants should verify current submission procedures through the foundation’s general contact form before investing significant time in a proposal.
Overall, the Charles Lafitte Foundation appears best suited for nonprofits able to demonstrate a practical, measurable project that fits squarely within one of its four established funding areas and can be introduced through existing community, institutional or grantee relationships. While there is no evidence that the foundation has formally shifted to invitation-only grantmaking, the absence of a current public application portal makes relationship-building and confirming submission procedures especially important first steps.
PROFILE: The Charles Lafitte Foundation was established by Jeffrey and Suzanne Citron in 1999. Jeffrey Citron is the chair of Vonage, a cloud communications provider. The foundation is named for their dog and appears to be based in Jupiter, Florida. This funder “supports innovative and effective ways of helping people help themselves and others around them to achieve healthy, satisfying and enriched lives.” Its areas of giving are education, children’s advocacy, medical research and the arts. While this funder does not name geographic priorities, it appears to focus on the states of New Jersey, Florida and New York.
Grants for Higher Education
The foundation’s main higher education recipient is Duke University.
- In 2018, the foundation announced a multi-year $5 million commitment to Duke that has supported several of the school’s divisions and initiatives.
- Funding has gone to the university’s Trinity School of Arts and Sciences, the Office of Administration and the Sarah P. Duke Gardens Fund.
- The foundation also earmarked $1 million for the establishment of the Duke Incubation Fund, a university-based grantmaking program that aims to “support idea-stage projects at Duke University with potential commercial prospects.”
Grants for K-12 Education
K-12 education is a major focus of Lafitte’s education grantmaking, which names special education, at-risk students, innovative teaching methods and educational access as priorities. Grants have gone to an assortment of public and private schools and organizations providing after-school programming.
- School grantees include Phillips Exeter Academy, New York City’s Cristo Rey High School and Mount Rainier High School in Washington.
- Multiple chapters of Boys and Girls Clubs and Big Brothers and Big Sisters Programs have also received funding.
- In New Jersey, the foundation has also given to the Bridge of Books Foundation, which provides free books to underserved children throughout the state.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
Early childhood education is a smaller area of funding for the Lafitte Foundation; a handful of small community preschools and early childhood developmental services providers have received grants.
- Past grantees include the Florence Fuller Childhood Development Center in Boca Raton, Florida; the Monmouth Day Care Center of Red Bank, New Jersey and Family and Children Services of Long Branch, New Jersey.
Grants for Science Research and Diseases
The Charles LaFitte Foundation funds research via its medical research program and names disease prevention and studies of “specific groups with serious neglected problems” as areas of interest.
- Grants have gone to the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York University’s Langone Medical Center, the American Cancer Society and the Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
Grants for Public Health, Mental Health and Housing
Lafitte’s children’s advocacy grantmaking area supports initiatives for children’s health and well-being, including initiatives for mental health and housing. The foundation expresses specific interest in combating child abuse, providing good foster care and eliminating hunger for vulnerable populations of children.
- A significant portion of funding from this program goes to health initiatives, with grants supporting Florida’s Nicklaus Children’s Health Care and Angel Flight of New England, which provides transportation for children with serious illnesses to critical care hospitals around the country.
- Other child advocacy grantees include the Florence Fuller Child Development Center, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County and Family and Children’s Services of Long Branch, New Jersey.
- Lafitte has also supported several hospitals and healthcare initiatives over the years. Among its past grantees are the Monmouth Medical Center in New Jersey, the Meridian Health Foundation and the Jersey Shore Medical Center.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Lafitte Foundation names the arts as an area of grantmaking, citing “diminished civic support and declining patronage.”
- The foundation names five arts goals: cultivating new talent, supporting established artists, advancing children’s creative education, ensuring equal access to the arts, and expanding therapeutic arts programs.
Important Grant Details:
The Charles Lafitte Foundation makes about $1.5 million to $2.75 million in grants each year. Grants typically range from $1,200 to $250,000, with an average grant size of about $7,000.
- While this funder does not name geographic areas of priority, its grants appear to be concentrated in the states of New Jersey, Florida and New York.
- Medical research and public health grants tend to go to large medical schools and hospital systems, but education funding supports a broad range of public and private schools and other organizations.
- 990s indicate that Lafitte posts application guidelines on its website and accepts applications at any time via its application portal; however, this is no longer reflected on the website, and no functioning application portal or public application instructions are visible.
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